SIS is committed to a Cancellation Policy which is fair to customers and sessional interpreters. We understand that customer plans may change due to fluid circumstances. We equally have a responsibility to freelance sessional interpreters to ensure they are not negatively impacted (incur losses/ lose work) in accepting interpreting booking with SIS, and which are subsequently cancelled through customer or service user plans changing at very short notice. (NB: sessional interpreters may cancel other plans, or not look for or accept other interpreting assignments if they have committed to a booking you have made).

• Late Cancellation charges are necessary to ensure that freelance sessional community interpreters are compensated for making themselves available to work for customers or customers’ clients and who subsequently change their minds about an appointment for whatever reason.
• Late Cancellation charges are also necessary to ensure that SIS is recompensed for any time and work which has gone into the cancelled booking to cover our overheads and help us keep costs down for all customers.

For the above reasons, once a request for an Interpreting Booking has been made by a customer to SIS (by phone, e-mail, eLangserv or Guest Booking) and where SIS have confirmed back to you that an interpreter has been booked to attend, the following terms and conditions of the SIS Cancellation Policy will apply without exception unless SIS have a contract in place with your organisation in which case the contractual clauses apply.

• Customers who need to alter the terms of a booking must do so directly with SIS and not attempt to do so with the interpreter who has no power or authority to renegotiate the terms of a booking or to act on behalf of SIS for the purposes of altering any agreements or our terms and conditions.
• The Notice of Cancellation to SIS by the Customer MUST be done by email or phone.
• Customers may cancel their interpreting booking without incurring ANY Cancellation Charge at any time up to 3 full working days before the day of the interpreting session.
• Please note the office closes at 5pm.

 

SIS working days (Mon – Fri 08:00 – 18:00)

Public Holidays / Bank Holidays do not constitute working days.

e.g. If the interpreting booking is for a Monday you MUST notify SIS at the latest by 17:00 on the Tues of the previous week to avoid incurring a Cancellation Charges.

e.g. If the interpreting booking is on a Friday – you must notify SIS at the latest by 17:00 on Monday that same week to avoid incurring a Cancellation Charge.

e.g. If the interpreting booking is on a Tuesday following a Bank Holiday Monday you MUST notify SIS at the latest by 17:00 on the Tuesday of the previous week to avoid incurring a Cancellation Charge.

Bookings cancelled with less than 3 full working days’ notice before the day of the interpreting session will incur the following cancellation charges.

• Bookings cancelled on the same day as the interpreting session will incur a cancellation fee equivalent to 100% of the booked duration plus VAT.

Customers will not be charged travel costs where the interpreter has not commenced their journey to the interpreting session venue.

If the interpreter has begun their journey to the interpreting session venue, or is already present at the session venue the Cancellation fee charged will be a minimum fee of 100% of the booked duration + applicable travel costs + VAT.

If the interpreter attends a booked interpreting session and the customer and/or your client do not attend, this will be treated as a same day cancellation and you will be charged a minimum fee of 100% of the booked duration + applicable travel costs + VAT.

 

• Bookings cancelled on the previous working day before the day of the interpreting session will be charged 100% of the booked duration + VAT.

 

• Bookings cancelled two or three working days before the day of the interpreting session will be charged 50% of the booked duration + VAT.

 

• If an interpreting session is curtailed or cancelled either wholly or in part during the actual session the customer shall be liable for payment of a Cancellation Charge the minimum which shall be 100% of the booked duration + any applicable travel costs + VAT.

 

• If the session is cancelled after the first hour the Cancellation Charge will be calculated in accordance with the interpreting fees payable for the actual duration of the session together with any applicable travel costs + VAT.

 

NB:

Interpreting Bookings Received from Service User Self-Referrals. The SIS Cancellation Policy Terms and Conditions will apply to Interpreting Bookings arising from service user self-referral requests made directly to SIS, and where these interpreting booking/session details are then reconfirmed/checked back with the customer and their authorisation for the interpreters attending approved.

Re-arrangement of Interpreting Bookings. The Timescales outlined in the above Cancellation Policy will also apply to customer requests to rearrange the original interpreting booking dates and times. i.e. changes to dates/times from the original interpreting booking can be made by customers anytime up to 3 working days before the day of the session without incurring any charge. If the re-arrangement is less than 3 working days then a rescheduling fee might be applied.